This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. Three Hong Kong judges who presided over former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s high-profile national security trial for more than 1½ years are…
Hong Kong’s national security police have arrested a 71-year-old man on suspicion of disclosing details of one of their probes, invoking a provision that covers prejudicing such investigations for the first time. Police said the National Security Department conducted an enforcement operation on Saturday, and the suspect was arrested. He was accused of violating the…
Hong Kong authorities have hit back at US politicians’ “absurd and fact-twisting” allegations over the health of former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and their call for his unconditional release from prison. A spokesman for the Hong Kong government described the resolution introduced in the United States House of Representatives as an attempt to pressure…
Charlie Kirk’s death in the United States was a major political shock. But what followed was more revealing: employees disciplined for social media posts, celebrities facing backlash for controversial remarks and businesses scrambling to distance themselves from the fallout. The controversy highlighted a broader truth of the digital age: a single comment, whether in jest…
Hong Kong has hit back at the European Commission’s annual report, which claimed the city’s autonomy and freedoms were in “continued erosion”, citing the enactment of domestic national security legislation and the high-profile trials of opposition activists. The Hong Kong government on Tuesday evening said it “strongly disapproved of and rejected the unfounded and biased…
The familiar signs of hustle and bustle in Hong Kong are back. Mainland tourists are thronging major attractions, from the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade to Disneyland Resort. Foreign tourists are returning in noticeable numbers, adding a cosmopolitan flair. Overseas business travellers are back in droves, too, as evidenced by the back-to-back exhibitions at the Hong…
A judge has argued that an interpretation of Hong Kong’s national security law by Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s defence team may not reflect Beijing’s true intentions, after the former media boss’ lawyers argued that the legislation did not penalise calls for sanctions against select Chinese officials. Lai’s lawyers on Monday argued that a strict literal approach…
A Hong Kong judge hearing Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial has dismissed the defence’s contention that the former media boss was just exercising his right to freedom of expression with his anti-China comments, citing crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests in the West. A protracted debate at West Kowloon Court on the proper reading of Lai’s…
HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court began hearing final arguments Monday in the landmark national security trial of former pro-democracy newspaper founder Jimmy Lai, who could be sentenced to up to life in prison if he is convicted. Lai, 77, was arrested in 2020 under a national security law imposed by Beijing following…
Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial has been adjourned until Monday after judges expressed concerns about his heart issue that arose shortly before closing submission proceedings. The Apple Daily founder’s health condition was brought to the attention of West Kowloon Court on Friday, just as the three presiding High Court…